Michael Upton, of Clairemont, still can’t reconcile Vilkin’s version of events with what he knows about his brother, and what Upton’s girlfriend said she witnessed.

“It’s totally inconsistent,” the brother said.

Thursday’s shooting topped off a confluence of events that day. Upton and his girlfriend were not only celebrating her birthday, but the recent purchase of a ranch in Fallbrook where they were about to move.

Early Thursday morning also came with news that Upton’s mother had died from cancer.

Michael Upton's shadow is cast in front of the dirt area where his brother, John Upton, was shot and killed Thursday. Upton was renting a home to the right, and the alleged shooter owns property on the other side.
— Charlie Neuman

Michael Upton's shadow is cast in front of the dirt area where his brother, John Upton, was shot and killed Thursday. Upton was renting a home to the right, and the alleged shooter owns property on the other side.
— Charlie Neuman

Izidor Ruckel, 32, said he owes his life to Upton. He was one of the Romanian children brought to the United States.

“I just can’t believe this happened,” said Ruckel, who now lives in Colorado. “He’s the reason I’m alive. I just talked to him the other day.”

When Ruckel learned of the shooting, the memory of his initial encounter with Upton at the orphanage flashed in his head.

“The first time I met him, he said, ‘Don’t you want to play soccer like all the American kids?’ I said, ‘Yes,’ and he said, ‘You have to have surgery in order to do that.’”

Ruckel, who suffered from polio, was adopted in the U.S. and went through six leg surgeries. He can now walk.

Upton, already an established filmmaker in 1990, caught the world’s attention when he went to Romania. What started as a one-man crusade ended up inspiring many others who saw the horrors of orphanage life and his efforts on “20/20.” Lawmakers, billionaire Richard Branson and actress Jessica Lange continued his work, helping rescue some 5,000 children. Some were adopted in San Diego.

Eli Brooks, a woman who adopted a blind girl named Anna, said the family is “a little blown away” by news of Upton’s death.

She hasn’t told Anna yet, and Friday afternoon she was thinking about a way to break the news to her now 37-year-old daughter, who “loves John.”

“This is going to be very difficult. We will love him forever for the difference he made in their lives,” Brooks said from her Michigan home.